The present invention relates to devices attachable to individuals for supporting articles in order to free their hands for other purposes, and more particularly pertains to a portable eating table suspended from the user's neck for supporting food and beverage items and utensils thereon.
At any large gathering or social event, such as a wedding reception, bar mitzvah, baptism, family reunion, birthday, outdoor picnic, sporting event, military exercise, etc., where food is served at buffet tables, picnic tables, chow lines, or food kiosks, the individuals must stand in line and hold a plate with one hand while using the other free hand to scoop food onto the plate with a utensil or place food items onto the plate. The individuals must maintain a balancing act in that utensils and perhaps a beverage item may be set on the plate and must be carefully balanced thereon while at the same time food items are being placed on the plate by the individuals as they pass through the food lines. Also, individuals confined to wheelchairs must overcome the problem of balancing the food plate in one hand, using the other hand to place food and beverage items on the plate, and maneuvering the wheelchair around crowds of people and over uneven terrain.
Furthermore, this activity is made more difficult when families with children, especially young children, must go through a buffet line at a wedding reception, wait in long lines before ordering food at food kiosks in sports arenas and stadiums, or stand in line beside picnic tables laden with food at an outdoor party. The adults must not only load food and beverage items onto their plates but, at the same time, balance their own plates with one hand while placing food and beverage items on their children's plates with the other free hand. Sometimes the balancing act takes the form of the adult holding and balancing both his or her plate and one child's plate between the fingers of one hand while using the other free hand to place or scoop food and beverage items onto both plates. The adult must accomplish this task while keeping the children under control and preventing the plates from tipping or overturning and thus spilling their contents.
The problem of balancing one or more plates or trays with one hand while placing food and beverage items thereon with the other hand is encountered in such widely varying situations as fathers waiting in line with their sons before food kiosks at sporting arenas and stadiums and by soldiers standing in line at the field mess attempting to place food on their trays while preventing their helmets from falling off as they reach for the food and beverage items. Moreover, at events where there are not enough chairs or seats, or in military situations where there is only the cold, wet ground to sit on, there is the additional problem of holding the plate or tray steady with one hand and manipulating eating utensils with the other hand, while preventing items from falling to the ground. Even when seats are available at sports arenas and stadiums, there is still the problem of holding food and beverage items in one or both hands and following the course of the game while spectators are standing, cheering, jostling one another, and continuously moving about during the game. Placing the food or beverage items in the lap and/or on the seat to free one or both hands is no solution because the constant moving and jostling by the individual, or by adjacent individuals, invariably causes the food and beverage items to spill on the individual's lap. It is not enjoyable watching a football game outdoors on a cold December afternoon with food and beverage items spilled on your lap and permeating your clothing.
A number of devices have been invented which attach to the individual's neck and/or waist and in or upon which food and beverage items, and utensils, are placed so that the individual can eat while both hands are free. Among the devices are the following: U.S. Pat. No. 1,191,425 (Huddle); U.S. Pat. No. 1,232,089 (Riebe); U.S. Pat. No. 2,289,945 (Wadsack); U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,613 (Noland); U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,094 (Stang); U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,558 (Stang); U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,222 (Welch); U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,032 (Bott et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,940 (Goulter); U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,070 (Lavi). These devices have a number of disadvantages and defects; among them the fact that they are awkward in their attachment to the user, uncomfortable to wear, and not capable of easy storage and movement to different locations. Therefore, there is a need for a holder or food tray device which overcomes these defects and also permits easy cleaning and can be used by both adults and children.